


When the Role Becomes Reality

by Rhyfeddol



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-23 10:52:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8324986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhyfeddol/pseuds/Rhyfeddol
Summary: Nora comes up with a plan to get Jaune to notice Pyrrha, and Yang is her instrument.  They put it into action, but as with most of Nora's ideas, it doesn't go entirely as expected...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlexSuperPotterWhoLock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSuperPotterWhoLock/gifts).



            Yang couldn't help but feel sorry for Pyrrha. Whether or not the Invincible Girl admitted it, her feelings for Jaune were painfully obvious to all but Jaune himself, and he had eyes for no one but Weiss. Which was why, when she heard Nora's plan, Yang was happy to go along with it in the hopes of helping Pyrrha with her situation. 

* * *

            She was in Beacon's training room, pounding away at a punching bag, when she was approached by Nora. As always, Ren was being dragged along behind, but he didn't seem perturbed. _Probably used to it_ , Yang thought. She stopped punching when Nora began to speak.

            "Yang, how do you get a guy's attention?" Nora asked loudly. "I'm asking for a friend."

            "Nora, I know exactly who you're talking about, and I don't think my usual approach would work," Yang told her.

            "Who is it, then? Huh?"

            "Pyrrha wants Jaune to notice her, doesn't she?" Yang asked.

            "What?! How do you know that?" Nora demanded.

            "Nora, it's obvious," Ren said. "Obvious to everyone but Jaune."

            "So what's your usual approach?" Nora asked.

            "Normally it's all about cleavage," Yang explained. "But Jaune can't stop staring at Weiss, so he's clearly not interested in that."

            "Do you have any other suggestions?" Ren asked.

            "No," Yang said, sighing. "But I can't stand to see Pyrrha looking so depressed all the time. If you guys think of anything and I can help, I'll do whatever you need me to do."

            "Thanks, Yang," Ren said.

            "I'm holding you to that!" Nora sang, leaving the room with Ren in tow. Yang turned back to her punching bag and sighed again, wondering if there was anything she could do to help Pyrrha.

            Over the next few days, she took note of how Pyrrha acted towards Jaune. She'd known for a while about her friend's crush, but as it wasn't any of her business, she'd pretty much ignored it until now. To Yang, the most telling things were Pyrrha's longing stares and the way she seemed to find every possible excuse to touch Jaune, be it hugging him for no reason or _accidentally_ brushing up against him. She also noticed how, as the days went on, Pyrrha seemed more and more dejected, walking around with her shoulders slumped and smiling less and less. Yang could hardly believe that the Pyrrha she was seeing was the same bubbly, friendly girl she'd met several months ago during initiation. On Friday afternoon, she decided to talk to the Mistralian about it.

            "Hey, Pyrrha, you okay?" Yang whispered during Grimm Studies.

            "Yes, I'm fine, thanks," Pyrrha replied, but her tone suggested anything but. "Why?"

            "You... Don't seem yourself." Yang was careful not to confront the issue directly. "You haven't been taking any notes this class. That's not like you."

            "Well, I fail to see how Professor Port's stories will help me fight monsters," Pyrrha explained.

            "Is there something on your mind?" Yang asked. "I'm not trying to pry, but..." This was sort of a lie, but she decided it was worth it. "If there's anything you wanna talk about, there are people who care about you. Your team. My team. You really aren't yourself these days, and even though we're not especially close, I really hate seeing you like this."

            "Your concern is... touching, Yang," Pyrrha said. "Really. Thank you."

            "Anything for a friend," Yang replied. "Lemme know if you wanna talk to me. If not, remember that I've got your back." Pyrrha simply nodded in acknowledgement, and Yang went back to doodling.

            Over dinner that evening, bitterness flashed across Pyrrha's face as Jaune tried once more in vain to impress Weiss, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Yang. She sighed inwardly, silently hoping that either Jaune would grow a brain or Pyrrha would get over him, but neither of those things seemed likely.

            “So are we all going to the dance?” Ruby asked through a mouthful of the chocolate chip cookies she was having for dessert.

            “I dunno,” Yang said. She hadn’t really thought about the end-of-year dance that was coming up very much. “Last one was kinda boring for me. I’ll go if I get a date. Or if Jaune promises to show up in a dress again,” she added, trying not to snicker.

            “Yeah, that’s not happening,” Jaune said. “But you're, you know, _you_. There's no way you won’t get a date.” Yang shrugged, not prepared to disagree with him. She knew he was right, but… there wasn’t really anyone she was interested in, and most of the guys at Beacon annoyed her anyway.

            “Didn’t you say that about Pyrrha last time?” Ruby asked.

            “Ruby, Jaune isn’t known for his judgment concerning girls,” Weiss told her. Jaune visibly shrank back at her needlessly harsh tone.

            “Yeah, just like you aren’t known for your warm personality,” Yang snapped back at her. “At least he tries.”

            “You guys… _do_ know he's right here, don’t you?” Blake asked pointedly.

            “How could they not?” Nora asked. “He’s _always_ following Weiss around!”

            “I am not!” Jaune protested.

            “She knows,” Yang told him. “She’s just teasing. Right, Nora?”

            “Of course, he knows I'm kidding.”

            “Well, I'm going to the library,” Blake suddenly announced. “I’ll see you guys later.”

            “See ya, Blake!” Ruby replied cheerfully. After scarfing down a few more cookies, she stood up as well. “I'm going for a run in the forest. Maybe to kill things too. Bye!” She vanished, leaving only a few petals and the faint smell of roses to prove she’d been there. The rest of the group soon followed, citing various reasons, leaving only Yang and Pyrrha in the middle of the cacophony that was Beacon’s cafeteria.

            “So… how you holding up?” Yang asked tentatively.

            “Would you accompany me on a walk?” Pyrrha replied. “I’d rather not stay here too much longer.”

            “Uh, yeah, sure,” Yang said, unsure of whether or not Pyrrha had heard her. She followed her friend through the hallways and was somewhat surprised to find she was being led to the roof to their dorm building.

            “Yang… I need some outside perspective,” Pyrrha said, breaking a slightly awkward silence that had lasted since the girls had left the cafeteria.

            “Sure. What's up?” Yang asked, trying to sound positive for Pyrrha’s sake.

            “It’s probably quite obvious to you, of all people, but… I feel quite strongly about Jaune.”

            Yang decided not to point out just _how_ obvious it was to everyone who knew Pyrrha. Instead, she opted for a safer answer of, “what do you need my perspective on?”

            “What do I _do_?” Pyrrha demanded. Her lack of calm was slightly alarming to Yang. “He doesn’t even _notice_ me!”

            “Well…” Yang said slowly. “I can’t claim to understand how guys’ minds work.”

            “You know better than I do,” Pyrrha pointed out.

            “That may be true. Look, they tend to have a one-track mind, so until he gets over Weiss there’s not really much you can do.”

            “Do you… do you know how long that'll be?” Pyrrha sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

            “I’m sorry, Pyrrha. I really don’t know. I hate to say it, but you picked a pretty bad time for a crush.” Seeing that her friend’s eyes were now watering, Yang stepped forward to embrace her, allowing Pyrrha to cry onto her shoulder for as long as she needed.

            “What am I doing wrong?” she asked, now almost sobbing.

            “You’ve never done anything wrong, Pyrrha,” Yang said softly. “He’ll come around. Just you wait. If anyone deserves to be with the person they love, it’s you.”

            “Th- thank you…”

* * *

 

            “Yang, I've got it!” Nora exclaimed.

            “What?” Yang asked. Her surprise at Nora’s exclamation nearly made her spill the Dust she was pouring into the shells she was making for Ember Celica in Beacon’s workshop.

            “I've figured out how we’re gonna help Pyrrha!”

            “Awesome,” Yang said. “What's the plan?”

            “Well, actually _you're_ gonna help Pyrrha but I'm taking credit for the idea!” Nora clarified quickly. “You're gonna ask her out on a date!”


	2. Chapter 2

            "Excuse me?" Yang asked, utterly flabbergasted at Nora's idea.

            "She's bound to say yes to you!" Nora explained. "Who wouldn't? You're gorgeous!"

            "You're not the first person to tell me that, but... How's that gonna help?"

            "Yang, you're not actually going to date her," Ren said. "Nora thinks that if you and Pyrrha _pretend_ to be a couple, it might get Jaune's attention. Then you have a fake break-up and everything will fall into place."

            "I think I get it..." Yang said slowly. "You're saying I need to fake-date her until Jaune wants to real-date her?"

            "Yeah!" Nora yelled. "What could _possibly_ go wrong?!"

            "Lots of things," Ren said. "But we don't have any better ideas."

            "Just one question," Yang said. "Why me?"

            "Because you're the only person we trust enough and is in her league," Nora explained quickly. "Duh!"

            "Fair point," Yang conceded. "Lemme just figure out how I'm gonna do this."

            Several days passed before Yang decided the best way to follow through with Nora's plan was to explain everything to Pyrrha and see if she went for it. There was, however, one little worry in the back of her mind. What would happen if she and Pyrrha went through with pretending to be girlfriends but one of them actually did end up falling for the other?

            She decided to approach Pyrrha on a night she knew was a training session for Jaune. She sat in her room, hanging out with Blake, until a time she figured would be close to the end of Jaune's training, and headed for the roof where she'd spoken to the Mistralian. She passed Jaune on the way there, who looked concerned.

            "Hey, Jaune," Yang greeted him coolly. "Weiss is in a pissy mood. Don't bother her," she added, winking. This wasn't true, but she thought that trying to pry Jaune's affections away from the Ice Queen could only make things easier.

            "Very funny," Jaune said. "Where are you off to?"

            "Just a walk," Yang said. "You okay? You look worried."

            "It's Pyrrha..." _Oh, for fuck's sake_ , Yang thought. _You're the reason she's in a terrible mood lately!_ "She's been off her game, but she's claiming everything's fine."

            "If I see her, I'll talk to her," Yang promised him. "Don't worry about it. It's probably something she doesn't feel comfortable discussing with a dude."

            "Yeah..." Jaune said. "Yeah, you're right! She probably needs girl talk!"

            _She needs_ you _,_ Yang thought. _Open your eyes._ "See ya, Vomit Boy."

            "Goodnight, Yang."  

            Alone once more, Yang continued on her way to the roof, hoping Pyrrha was still there. She was glad Nora had come up with the idea, because she didn’t want Pyrrha thinking she was insane or somehow trying to take advantage of her. At least if Pyrrha didn’t go for it, she could pin the whole thing on Nora.

            Yang found Pyrrha where she’d hoped. The Invincible Girl was standing on the roof, staring out across Beacon’s campus, but she looked far from invincible. Her head was bowed, and she was shaking slightly, as if she were crying again. She turned around when she heard Yang’s footsteps. As Yang had suspected, Pyrrha was crying, and her green eyeliner was streaked.

            “H-hi, Yang,” she said quietly.

            “Hey,” Yang replied, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha once more. “I spoke to Jaune. He’s worried about you.”

            “Di-did you tell him anything?”

            “No, of course not. It’s not for me to tell.”

            “Thank you…” Pyrrha said, pulling back from the hug.

            “But… I do have an idea for you.”

            “Really?” The look on Pyrrha’s face was like she was waiting to see if she’d won  a million-Lien prize.

            “Actually, it’s Nora’s idea,” Yang admitted. “And I think it’s batshit crazy. But worth a shot.”

            “What is it?”

            _Here goes nothing_ , Yang thought. “She thinks you should go out with me.”

            The excitement on Pyrrha’s face was replaced by the most intense look of confusion Yang had ever seen. To be fair, Yang had felt the same way when she’d heard this plan. “Um… why?”

            “I asked that too,” Yang said. “Her logic is that seeing us together will make Jaune notice you. Then we break up, he comforts you and he’s all yours.”

            “And you’re okay with starting a relationship you _know_ is going to end?” Pyrrha asked.

            “Shit, I forgot to mention that part. We won’t _actually_ be dating. We just have to pretend and successfully convince the others.”

            “Do you think it could work?” Pyrrha asked slowly.

            “If Jaune is the type to get jealous, yeah,” Yang said. “What do you think? Wanna give it a shot? We can call it off at any point if you get uncomfortable.”

            Pyrrha looked Yang straight in the eyes and smiled before answering. “I think I would very much enjoy going on a date with you.”

* * *

 

            When Saturday evening rolled around, Pyrrha was having an issue she hadn’t had in a while: she couldn’t decide what to wear. Even though it wasn’t a real date, she knew she had to make an effort to look the part if the deception was going to work.

            Yang and Nora had worked out a plan to ensure Jaune would realise something was going on as soon as possible. Nora had told Pyrrha she would _motivate_ the boy to ask for training that evening, and Pyrrha would simply tell him that she had a date. It seemed as good a plan as any,  but it wasn't Pyrrha's main concern.

            Eventually, she settled on a simple pair of light brown jeans – very similar in colour to her usual chest piece – and a tight-fitting red V-neck crop top. She was in the middle of putting her headpiece on when she was approached by Jaune.

            “Hey, uh… you busy?” he asked. “I thought maybe we could do some training…”

            “Sorry, Jaune,” Pyrrha said. She wasn’t even lying. She did actually feel somewhat sorry to not be spending time with him, but she reasoned that if the plan worked it would be worth it. “I actually have a date tonight.”

            “Oh,” Jaune said, looking somewhat surprised. “Well, enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later.”

            “Bye,” Pyrrha said. A few minutes later, her usual makeup was applied. After one last look at her reflection, she decided she was ready to go out and meet Yang. As she was opening her dorm room door, Nora called out to her.

            “Have fun!”

            “That’s the idea,” Pyrrha said. “But I honestly don’t know what’s been planned…”

            “It’ll be fine,” Nora told her. “And don’t worry if it doesn’t work out. Happens to the best of us. Trust me, though. There won’t be any issues.”

            “I don’t know what time I’ll be back,” Pyrrha said, walking out the door. “I’ll see you all later.”

            Yang had told her to meet at the airship dock at seven-thirty, so she made her way there at a brisk pace. She arrived a bit early, but wasn’t kept waiting long. She was pleasantly surprised to see that Yang arrived exactly on time, in contrast to her academic attendance, where she usually showed up a couple of minutes late to every class except combat training.

            “Hey,” Yang said. “You… look really nice.”

            “Thank you,” Pyrrha replied, feeling a blush rising in her cheeks. “You're treating this like a real date, then?”

            “I’m treating the whole thing like it was real,” Yang said. “If that’s okay with you.”

            “That sounds grand,” Pyrrha said. “Shall we go?”

            “Considering the airship leaves in less than five minutes and the next one isn’t for another two hours, that would probably be a good idea.”

            They entered the terminal, got on the ship and took their seats just in time for the departure, chatting idly throughout the short trip into Vale. The sun had almost completely set when they arrived, and Pyrrha felt herself blushing once more when Yang complimented the way her hair looked catching the last rays.

            “I thought for a while about what we could do,” the blonde said, taking Pyrrha’s hand and gently guiding her towards the Vale airship terminal’s parking lot. “I figured anything fancy isn’t really either of our styles, so how about food then a trip to the pier?”

            “That sounds nice,” Pyrrha replied, “but how are we getting there?”

            Yang smiled, her grin almost devilish. “Ever been on a motorcycle?”

* * *

            “I am slightly insane when I drive this,” Yang admitted, retrieving her helmet and the spare one from under Bumblebee’s seat. “But please don’t panic. Here,” she added, handing Pyrrha the spare helmet.

            “Considering what we went through on initiation, I don’t think a bike will scare me,” Pyrrha said, though Yang sensed hesitation. “Just don’t do anything illegal.”

            “No promises,” Yang said, winking. She climbed onto the bike and started it, then gestured to Pyrrha to get on behind her. “Just keep your arms around me.” Feeling Pyrrha's arms encircle her waist, she revved Bumblebee’s engine. “Here we go,” she said.

            As she’d expected, Pyrrha's grip tightened when the bike accelerated out of the parking lot. They coursed through the streets of Vale, heading to one of Yang’s favourite burger joints. At the breakneck speeds she liked to ride, they arrived in no time, accompanied by what Yang thought was a great soundtrack: the roaring of the bike’s engine and her date’s yells of exhilaration.

            “This place is heaven for burger lovers,” Yang said, dismounting and removing her helmet. “And a hotspot for heart disease. Probably not an issue with our lifestyle though.”

            “Indulging once in a while should be fine,” Pyrrha said. “But I’d rather not make a habit of it.”

            “Next time you can take _me_ out to dinner then,” Yang replied, winking. “Come on, it’s got a really cool retro vibe and an actual jukebox.” After locking the bike helmets safely under the seat, she took Pyrrha's hand again and walked with her to the door of the restaurant. The loud rock music and smell of greasy food brought a smile to her face immediately.

            "Just the two of you?" the host asked, picking up two menus. Yang rather liked the sound of that: just her and Pyrrha, even though it wasn't real. She nodded, and along with Pyrrha was led to a table near the jukebox. They sat down, and Yang pretended to be looking over the menu, but she already knew what she wanted to eat.

            "You know," she said slowly. "There's something in here I've always wanted to try..."

            "What is it?" Pyrrha asked. "Why haven't you had it before?"

            "It's called the 'JBB challenge'," Yang said. "And I haven't had it because it's sixty Lien." She watched Pyrrha scan the menu until she found the item, then her eyes widened when she saw the description. It consisted of a two-pound patty with smoked meat, chilli, roast beef, bacon and several types of cheese, with a dozen onion rings, half a pound of chicken wings and mac and cheese.

            "Yang... That looks like a heart attack waiting to happen," she said, but her vibrantly green eyes carried a look of determination.

            "It's free if we eat it in under an hour," Yang pointed out. "Come on... What's adolescence without crazy experiences like that?"

            "It does seem like it could be fun to try," Pyrrha admitted. "And we do enough exercise at school..."

            "And can you resist the allure of free food?" Yang asked.

            "If you think we can do it, let's do it," Pyrrha said. Shortly thereafter, a waiter appeared to take their orders. He was fairly attractive, but Yang only had eyes for her "date".

            "Can I get you ladies anything to drink?" he asked.

            "Lemonade, please," Yang said.

            "I'd just like water, please," Pyrrha said.

            "All right. Ready to order your food or do you need a few more minutes?"

            Yang looked at Pyrrha before saying anything. The Mistralian nodded, which was all Yang needed. "We'd like to try the JBB Challenge," she announced. The waiter blinked in surprise.

            "Didn't expect that from two people," he said, "but everyone's more than welcome to try. You're aware that it's free if you eat it all in under an hour?"

            "Uh-huh," Yang said. "Part of the reason I wanna do it."

            "Well, I'll be back soon with your drinks," the waiter said, leaving Yang and Pyrrha alone once more.

            "Hope you've got a good appetite," Yang said.

            "Don't worry about me," Pyrrha replied. "I have been known to eat quite voraciously on occasion."

            "I'll take your word for it." Yang wasn't quite sure what "voraciously" meant, but from context she assumed it was something to do with eating a lot. "Back in a minute," she added, standing up abruptly. She walked the short distance to the jukebox and, after careful consideration, selected "Fell in Love With a Girl". Pyrrha looked surprised when she sat back down. "What?" Yang asked. "It seemed fitting."

            "I wasn't going to say anything."

            Their meal arrived after about half an hour, met by a sharp intake of breath from Yang. It had taken two waiters to carry it over to their table, and one of them brought a timer.

            "It's set for one hour," he said, placing his finger over the start button. "You may begin... Now!" He dropped the now-ticking timer on the table and departed, along with the other waiter.

            "Not gonna lie," Yang said, "I didn't realise it would be _quite_ so big."

            "That's what she said," Pyrrha replied, then immediately clapped a hand to her mouth, looking horrified. "I can't believe I just said that!" She began looking around desperately, like she was checking to see if anyone had heard her. Yang, meanwhile, was dying of laughter.  

            "Good thing I haven't eaten much today," she said after regaining her composure. “Anyway. I can’t _really_ afford this, so let’s get going.”

            Pyrrha picked up a chicken wing and popped it in her mouth, grimacing after a few seconds. Yang watched as she struggled to swallow it, and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

            “Too spicy for me,” Pyrrha explained. “I’m sorry, I can’t eat them.”

            “I’ve got it,” Yang said. She was well-used to spicy food, so the wings didn’t bother her in the least. She practically inhaled three of them, much to Pyrrha’s obvious amazement.

            “I don’t know how you do that,” she said.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Yang told her. “Just eat what you can.”

            Pyrrha reached for the bowl of mac and cheese and pulled it towards herself while Yang got started on the monster of a burger. _This_ may _have been a bit ambitious_ , she thought. It was so big she couldn’t even fit her mouth around it to take a bite. She resorted to removing some of the fillings to save for later, and just barely managed to bite into the remaining bread, patty, cheese and chilli. Chilli wasn’t something she’d ever tried on a burger, but she found herself enjoying it and pledged to get some on a normal burger at some point.

            There wasn’t much conversation over the next forty minutes. Both girls were too focused on consuming as much food as possible, the allure of not paying so great they almost didn’t stop to breathe. Their waiter stopped by every once in a while to check on their progress, looking impressed every time. Yang was glad to see that the chilli in the burger wasn’t too spicy for Pyrrha, or at the very least, the Invincible Girl wasn’t letting it beat her.

            “We might actually do this, Pyrrha,” Yang said, when there were about ten minutes left. The burger was gone, as was most of the mac and cheese, all the onion rings, all the roast beef and most of the smoked meat. “We could take a break for a couple of minutes.”

            “You know, I may not eat for a week after this,” Pyrrha replied, smiling. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.”

            Yang was also feeling full almost to the point of being overstuffed, but she told herself she couldn’t give in now. It was less about free food for her and more about saying she’d done it, albeit with help. A quick look at the timer spurred her into action, and she shovelled what was left of the smoked meat into her mouth. She probably looked very unladylike, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to win.

            “Only the wings, now,” Pyrrha pointed out when they only had a minute left. “I wish I could help.”

            _Shit,_ Yang thought, looking at the plate they were on. She had to eat seven of the spiciest chicken wings she’d ever encountered in under a minute. She thought she could handle the heat, but… she’d never attempted that much in such a short time. She vaguely registered the arrival of the two waiters and felt their stares, along with Pyrrha’s. Setting her jaw, she scooped up all the wings and crammed them into her mouth, trying not to let the heat register on her face.

            Keeping her eyes squarely on the timer, she began to chew. _Thirty_. Her taste buds were on fire, screaming in protest of the wings. _Fifteen_. She tried to swallow, and found she couldn’t. It was only after looking at the expression on Pyrrha's face that she managed to force the wings down her throat, feeling like she was chugging hydrochloric acid. When she nodded that she was done, the waiter hit the stop button on the timer.

            There was one second left.

            “Holy shit…” one of the waiters muttered. “I’ve never seen anyone do that…” His colleague gave him a dirty look for swearing in front of customers. Yang, meanwhile, was feeling her face burn, and trying not to die.

            “Congratulations,” the second waiter said. “Your meal is officially free.” Yang nodded in acknowledgement, while Pyrrha flashed a polite smile. “And because that last part was so impressive, I’ll give you your drinks on the house too.”

            “Thank you very much,” Pyrrha said.

            “Can I get you anything else?” the waiter asked.

            “Milk,” Yang sputtered. “Please.”

            “Right away.” True to his word, the man returned in no time with a large glass, which Yang threw back immediately.

            “I’m good now,” she said.

            “All right, well, if that’s all…” one of the waiters said. Pyrrha and Yang nodded. “Thanks for coming. Enjoy your evening.” The two waiters left the girls alone, and they also stood up to leave.

            “Pyrrha,” Yang said.

            “Yes?”

            “I can’t feel my tastebuds.”


	3. Chapter 3

            After the whopping amount of food they’d consumed, Yang deemed it a good idea to drive at a normal speed on the way to the pier. Pyrrha didn’t complain, though Yang did miss her exhilarated yells. The sun had set completely by the time they arrived, and the sea was sparkling in the moonlight.

            Once Bumblebee was parked and the helmets were stowed, Yang and Pyrrha began wandering around, not looking for anything in particular to do. They simply enjoyed each other’s company for a while, and tried to burn off some of the meal. It was only when Yang spotted a particular carnival game that the two girls had a specific destination.

            “Hey, Pyrrha,” she said, grinning. “Bet I can win the hammer smash thing.”

            “Isn’t that Nora’s strong suit?” Pyrrha replied.

            “You know what I mean,” Yang told her. “Come on, let’s go.” She grabbed Pyrrha’s hand and puller her over to the game. The prize was a large red stuffed bear, and the game operator said it was five Lien for three tries. “Is it me, or is that bear nearly as tall as Weiss?” Yang asked, handing over some change.

            Pyrrha burst out laughing while Yang picked up the hammer. All she had to do was hit the target with enough force to send a ball to the top of a pole. She lifted the hammer over her head and slammed it down as hard as she could. She noted with satisfaction that the ball hit the top, then bounced back up and hit it again twice more before finally coming to rest after nearly half a minute.

            “I… uh… you’ve won,” the operator stammered. He clearly couldn’t quite believe how hard Yang had hit the target. He picked up the bear and gave it to Yang, who accepted it eagerly. “Congratulations.”

            “Told ya,” Yang said to Pyrrha, throwing the bear over her shoulder. In truth, it was only about three feet tall, but she had a feeling it was heavier than Weiss. She was surprised to feel Pyrrha take her hand as they continued walking around the pier. _I could get used to this_ , she thought. A few minutes later, they encountered the ring toss.

            “Yang, I’d like to try this,” Pyrrha said.

            “You know it’s rigged, right?” Yang replied. “You _can’t_ win.”

            “Give me one shot,” Pyrrha insisted. “I’ll bet anything you want.”

            “I get another date if you lose,” Yang said, grinning widely.

            “You’re on,” Pyrrha told her. She handed some Lien over to the operator for a few rings, and took aim. All three of her tosses were perfect, much to Yang’s amazement.

            “That’s not physically possible,” Yang said, while Pyrrha was selecting a prize. “How did you do that?”

            “Just got lucky,” Pyrrha replied. She settled on a small yellow stuffed dragon, which she handed to Yang. “And don’t worry. I’ll still go on another date, if you want to.”

            “I don’t… understand…” Yang said, still dumbfounded. Pyrrha merely looked at her, obviously trying not to smile. After checking her scroll, Yang had a slight panic moment when she realised there were only twenty minutes before the last airship back to Beacon. “We should probably head back,” she said.

            “That would be advisable,” Pyrrha agreed. They began walking to the car park where Bumblebee was, and Yang was slightly disappointed when she realised that with the bear in one arm and the dragon in the other, she couldn’t hold Pyrrha’s hand. _Wait, what?_ she asked herself. _This isn’t even real. Why does that bother me?_

            Another dilemma arose when they got to the bike. The dragon could fit easily under the seat, but Yang couldn’t imagine how they could possibly bring the bear with them. This made her panic even more, because she didn’t want to leave it behind and time was running out.

            “What do we do?” she asked frantically.

            “Do you have rope or tape or something under your seat?” Pyrrha asked. “We could use that.”

            “Yeah, I do.” She lifted the helmets out and found the rope she kept for emergencies. “Dunno how I forgot about this.” With Pyrrha's help, she lashed the bear to the handlebars.

            “Will you be able to see where you're going?” Pyrrha asked dubiously.

            “Yeah,” Yang said, swinging her leg over the bike. “Mostly. Anyway, this might get really scary. We don’t have time for speed limits.”

            “You say that as if you ever obey them,” Pyrrha said.

            “I treat them as guidelines. Made by people with no spines,” Yang explained. “Here we go.”

            She drove back to the airship terminal even faster than she’d driven to the restaurant, and they just barely made it in time.  The short airship ride was spent with the two girls giggling about their close call, like they were ten years old instead of seventeen. Yang had enjoyed the evening more than she'd expected to, and found herself eagerly anticipating the next fake date. Upon their arrival at the school, they walked together to their dorms, Yang once again carrying the bear and the dragon.

            "I really enjoyed tonight," Pyrrha said, reaching for the handle of her door. "When can we do it again?"

            "Anytime you want," Yang said, dropping the bear onto the floor. "By the way, I actually won this for you. Keep it," she added, pushing it towards Pyrrha.

            "Thank you very much," Pyrrha said, clearly surprised but pleased. "Goodnight, Yang."

            "Goodnight, Pyrrha."

            When Yang entered her room, the curtains were closed and her teammates were asleep. Not seeing any point in staying up if she had no one to talk to, she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed, falling asleep quite quickly. She dreamed of a certain girl with a long ponytail...

* * *

 

            "So, Yang. How was your date?" Blake asked. She'd been awake when Yang had arrived home the night before, and unless she was very much mistaken, had heard her talking to Pyrrha outside. _Yang and Pyrrha?_ she thought. _Didn't see that coming._

            "Oh, yeah!" Ruby exclaimed. "Who was he, anyway?" Yang didn't look pleased at the onslaught of questions.

            "Well, Ruby, he was actually a she," she said. "And Blake, it was lovely. Thanks for asking." _I could've been right, then, if it was a girl she was out with._

            "Are you gonna tell us who _she_ was, then?" Ruby asked.

            “No," Yang said flatly. "Maybe after a couple more dates, when I see where things are with me and her. But you're my sister. You'll probably figure it out pretty quickly."

            “Fine,” Ruby grumbled.

            “Just don’t let your love life get in the way of your studies,” Weiss said.

            “At least I have a love life,” Yang replied coolly.

            “Nice one, sis!” Ruby said, smiling. “Though totally uncalled for,”  she added, seeing the look on Weiss’ face.

            “The nerve of-! Ugh!” Weiss yelled, storming out of the room. Blake watched her go, one eyebrow raised bemusedly.

            “When will she realise that she has to stop coming up with amusing reactions before I’ll stop saying stuff like that?” Yang asked, chuckling. “Though maybe I should apologise.”

            “Yeah, you should,” Ruby agreed. “Your new _girlfriend_ wouldn’t want to see you being mean to a teammate, would she?”

            “Shut up,” Yang told her, blushing. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

            “Yet,” Blake said drily.

            “You’re supposed to back me up!” Yang said to Blake indignantly.

            “I thought I was being optimistic about P– the girl,” Blake corrected herself quickly.

            “You were about to say something else then,” Yang told her, pointing her finger in accusation.

            “No I wasn’t,” Blake replied, maybe slightly too quickly.

            “Do you know something?” Yang asked.

            “No, I don’t. No idea whom you were with last night.”

            “I’ll believe you this time, Blake Belladonna.” She left the room without announcing her intentions, leaving Blake and Ruby alone.

            “Uh… what?” Ruby asked.

            “She thinks I know who she went out with,” Blake explained.

            “Do you?”

            “Maybe, but I could be wrong,” Blake said slyly. “Can you keep a secret?”

            “Absolutely,” Ruby replied eagerly.

            “I think our bodacious blonde brawler has her eyes on… Pyrrha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note on updating: don't count on it being regular, though I'll try my best. Also, the chapters will be of wildly different lengths, mainly because I don't have a solid plan beyond including certain events, so I stop when it feels like a good time. 
> 
> Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

            If you asked Ren about Nora's grand plan, he'd tell you that he wasn't convinced that the goal was what she said it was. She seemed very pleased the day after Pyrrha and Yang's first date, yet other than the former looking happier than she had in weeks, nothing much had come of it, as far as Ren could tell. He'd questioned Nora about it, but she'd insisted that things were going exactly how she wanted. He failed to see how, but... Not even he could understand the machinations of that girl's mind.

* * *

            " _Pyrrha_?" Ruby asked, shocked. After a shushing gesture from Blake, she continued more quietly, "are you sure?"

            Blake nodded. "I heard them talking last night just before Yang walked in. Definitely sounded like they'd come back from a date."

            _Yang likes Pyrrha?!?! Or does Pyrrha like Yang? Or maybe both? Who asked who out?_ Ruby's mind was running faster than a round from Crescent Rose as she considered what Blake had just told her. _Hmm... How can I prove it?_

            "Blake! I have a plan!" she yelled, after several seconds of thought.

            "May any existing gods have mercy on us all," Blake muttered. "A plan for what?" she asked Ruby.

            "To see if Yang or Pyrrha likes the other!" Ruby left the room and knocked on JNPR's door. Jaune opened it within seconds.

            "Hey, Ruby," he said. "What's up?"

            "Is Pyrrha or Nora around?" Ruby asked.

            "I'm here." It was Pyrrha's voice, and the girl herself appeared in the doorway behind Jaune. "Can I help you?"

            "Uh, yeah," Ruby said. "I was wondering... Yang's always complaining that Weiss and Blake don't want to spar very much, so do you and Nora maybe wanna come to the training room with us?" The whole scenario was a total lie, but she figured it was a perfectly natural way to get the girls together and see how they were around each other.

            "Sparring?! I love sparring!" Nora yelled from somewhere in the room. "Pyrrha, say yes, SAY YES!"

            "Well, I don't think I have anything especially important to attend to," Pyrrha said, "so I would be happy to join you."

            "Right answer!" Nora yelled.

            "Cool," Ruby said. "Let me just text Yang and let her know."

            She tapped out a quick message to her sister, who was quick to express her eagerness. She said she'd be in the training room in five minutes and would count every second Ruby, Pyrrha and Nora were late. Ruby was slightly worried about Yang's reasoning, which she neglected to explain, so she told Pyrrha and Nora to be quick in getting ready. 

            It wasn't long before the three of them were heading to the training room, where they found Yang already laying into a punching bag. She looked impatient, and Ruby was glad she didn't have to find out what would've happened if they'd taken too long.

            "Hey, Pyrrha," Yang called, when she heard them enter. Ruby thought she was suspiciously quick in greeting her companion. "And Ruby, Nora," Yang added, a hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks.

            "Hello, Yang," Pyrrha said politely. "How are you?"

            "Better now," Yang replied. Immediately, she looked like she wanted to hit herself.

            "And why's that? Hmm?" Ruby asked.

            "Because I..." Yang said slowly, clearly not sure where she was going. "Now I get to spar!" she almost yelled, sounding triumphant. Ruby couldn't help but notice that Yang was avoiding making eye contact with anyone.

            "Let's do this!" Nora yelled. She unfolded Magnhild and ran into the sparring section of the training room, where she stood and looked at the others expectantly. They were quick to join her, and Nora announced that it would be a free-for-all before swinging her hammer straight at Yang's head. The brawler, clearly not having expected such a rapid start, barely ducked in time before counter-attacking, and all hell broke loose on the mat.

            About an hour later, all four girls were too exhausted to continue. Ruby could barely hold Crescent Rose, but for the moment, she didn't care about that. She was more interested in something she'd noticed while sparring: Yang had seemed to _refuse_ to attack Pyrrha the entire time. Ruby made a mental note to interrogate her sister about it later, but first she needed food. Apparently Nora had the same idea, probably because she also had a heavy weapon to swing around during a fight.

            The foursome made their way to the cafeteria, where they piled their trays high and sat down. Ruby couldn't help but notice how Yang sat closer than was strictly necessary to Pyrrha, and Pyrrha seemed unconcerned. She was also looking happier than Ruby could remember seeing her for weeks, at least, and Nora appeared to be rather pleased with herself about something. _What's going on here?_ Ruby wondered.

            "Nothing's going on, silly!" Nora said loudly. "We're just having lunch!"

            "I know," Ruby said. "Why are you saying that?"

            "You asked what's going on," Yang said slowly. "Are you okay?"

            "Ooooh... I said that out loud?"

            "Are you okay?" Yang repeated. "Why are you wondering what's going on?"

            "Um..." Ruby wasn't sure what believable excuse she could give. "Because... What if we're not really here?" she asked triumphantly. "What if what's going on here isn't really going on at all?"

            "Uh-huh," Yang said, clearly confused. "And I thought Weiss and Blake were the deep thinkers."

            "Well," Pyrrha said. "As much as I've enjoyed our morning together—"

            "I bet you have," Nora agreed, grinning widely.

            "Why's that?" Ruby asked.

            "She's been in great company," Nora explained. "Right, Yang?"

            Yang looked at her in surprise and blushed slightly. "I—yeah," she said. "You guys are pretty great." _Oddly modest..._ Ruby thought.

            "As I was saying," Pyrrha said, getting to her feet. "I think I'm gonna head back upstairs. I want to get a head start on the next chapter of Oobleck's textbook." She picked up her tray and carried it to the nearest garbage can to dispose of her leftovers.

            "See ya," Yang said as Pyrrha passed her on her way to the exit. Lilac eyes watched the stunning figure retreat, not even blinking until she was out of sight. Ruby couldn't help but find that suspicious.

            "So Yang," Nora suddenly said, dragging Yang back to reality. "I hear it went well. Tell. Me. Everything."

            "But Ruby's right here!" Yang protested.

            "What went well?" Ruby asked. "Tell everything about what?"

            "Her date," Nora said, ignoring the pained look on Yang's face. "You _did_ know she had a date, right?"

            "How did _you_ know about it?" Ruby asked her.

            "Answer her and die, Nora," Yang muttered, blushing again.

            "I was helping Pyrrha get ready!" Nora said, totally unperturbed by the threat. Apparently she had good reason not to worry about it; Yang just put her head on the table and groaned in frustration.

            Meanwhile, Ruby's mind was going crazy. Blake had been right! Would things work out? Would this mean Team RWBY would be working closer with Team JNPR? And just how much did Yang like Pyrrha? She seemed ready to die of embarrassment.

            "I wasn't gonna tell anyone yet..." she said quietly, finally lifting her head. "Ruby, keep it a secret."

            "I will," Ruby promised solemnly.

            "And Nora," Yang said. "There's no way in hell I'm discussing this in public."

            "Ugh, fiiiiine!"

            "But I will discuss it with you," she added. "I promise."

* * *

            Pyrrha had no intention of reading her history textbook when she got back to her room. Instead, she thought about the situation with Yang. Their "relationship" was entirely fake, but... She couldn't help but think Yang had been laying it on a little thick in the training room and in the cafeteria, especially considering the only ones who knew anything was going on were Nora and Ren.

            Still, Pyrrha was new to dating, real or staged, so maybe Yang was just acting how she normally did in her relationships. That said, all day Yang had been so... she didn't know the word to use. It was like Yang really was dating her, or at least wanted to, and Pyrrha had almost been convinced it was real. She'd never imagined Yang to be that good of an actress, but...

            Pyrrha thought back to the night before. Such a simple, juvenile evening: what basically amounted to an eating competition followed by fairground games. Despite that, it had genuinely been one of the best nights she'd had in recent memory. She found she couldn't wait until the next time.

            Even if this plan didn't have the desired effect, she'd have to thank Nora and Yang for lifting her spirits, at least.

 

**A/N: sorry about the wait. Got busy. Forgot to continue this fic. Then I lost inspiration for ages. I'm gonna try to update more regularly, but A levels are about to start up again so no promises. I do still remember where the plot's going though.**

**Anyway, if you're still here, thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

            When one wasn't fighting Grimm, the Emerald Forest made a gorgeous destination to stroll languidly with friends or lovers, shaded by the vast verdant canopy and mostly devoid of any prying eyes or ears. There was seldom any noise, the silence inviting long walks and the occasional deep thought. Currently, though, the tranquillity was broken by two teenage girls who were, like so many clichés, talking about relationships.

            "You promised to tell me everything!" Nora sang. She was practically skipping through the forest with Yang, who was taking a far more leisurely pace.

            Yang shook her head in exasperation. "Technically I said I'd discuss it, and _you_ said I'd tell you everything."

            "That's basically the same thing," Nora said. "I already got all the details from Pyrrha, but I want _your_ version!"

            "If you already know everything that happened why do you want to hear it again?"

            "Be- _cause_ , silly," Nora said, abruptly stopping to stare accusingly at Yang. "She's a lot more _shy_ than you! She might've left out all the _good_ stuff!"

            Yang sighed and shook her head again. "We didn't kiss, if that's what you mean."

            "Of course not! You only need to do that when our friends are around!"

            That gave Yang pause. "Uh... What?"

            "You have no reason to kiss her if none of us can see you! You're just friends when we're not there to see it!"

            "No, I mean..." Yang trailed off, suddenly slightly embarrassed. "Why would we need to kiss when you guys _are_ around?"

            "Well, not me and Ren, obviously! We know it's not real! It's for the others! Everyone knows that the fastest way to make people think you're dating is to make out in public! And, y'know, Jaune is _definitely_ gonna notice two girls as hot as you and Pyrrha goin' at it!"

            "Okay, first off, we are _not_ making out in public," Yang insisted.

            "Too _shy_?" Nora teased, dragging out the word.

            "Of course I'm not," Yang replied, pushing her playfully. "I just don't think Pyrrha would go for it."

            "You'd have to bring that up with her! Go on, Yang, picture it... Her _amazing_ body pressed tightly against you, the feel of her lips on yours, the taste of her lip gloss—"

            "Getting a little pervy there, Nora," Yang said, chuckling nervously.

            "Only a _little_ bit!" Nora protested. "Besides, you're blushing!"

            "No I'm not," Yang muttered, knowing Nora was right. Her words had painted a rather vivid image in Yang's mind, and the blonde was feeling a little hot under the collar... as well as some stirrings lower down.

            "Why are you blushing?" Nora asked. "You _really_ wanna make out with Pyrrha, don't you?"

            "I..." Yang ran a hand through her hair. "Well, like, I like making out with beautiful people..."

            "What about Blake? Everyone knows cat girls are gorgeous!"

            "Nah," Yang said. "She's like my sister. That'd be weird."

            "Hm. Okay..." Nora scratched her chin in an exaggerated expression of deep thought. "How about Weiss?"

            At that, Yang laughed, her embarrassment momentarily gone. "As hilarious as it would be for Papa Schnee to see his little snowflake with _my_ tongue in her mouth," she said, "she's my _actual_ sister's partner. That makes her like, I dunno, my cousin? Still weird."

            "Okay, then what about... Coco? Or Velvet?"

            "Yeah, sure," Yang said. "I'd kiss them. Seems fun."

            "But they wouldn't be your first choice, would they? They're not Pyrrha!"

            Yang didn't answer that. Instead, she turned away from Nora's slightly unnerving gaze and felt heat rising in her cheeks. _What is she saying?_ she wondered. _And is she right?_

            "I knew it!" Nora yelled triumphantly. "You _do_ want to kiss her!"

            Yang sighed. "Can we talk about something else?"

            "Tell me what _did_ happen last night then!"

            "Isn't that the same topic?" Yang asked, turning to face Nora again.

            "Nope! Kissing Pyrrha is what you _want_ to do with her! Now I'm asking what you _have_ done with her!"

            "I'm pretty sure they both fall under the topic of 'Pyrrha'," Yang muttered. "All right, fine. But I still don't know why you're so interested. You know as well as I do it wasn't a real date."

            "She told me it felt like one!"

            _I guess I_ did _treat it that way_ , Yang thought. "Okay, well... We went for dinner, got the meal for free, went to the pier, I won that red bear in the hammer smash thing—"

            " _You_ won it?" Nora gasped. "She didn't tell me that! She said 'we'!"

            "No, it was all me," Yang said.

            "Then you gave it to her! That's _adorable_!"

            "Shut up," Yang told her, blushing slightly again. "Anyway, after that we held hands—"

            Nora gasped again. "On a _fake date_?! Yang Xiao Long, you are a _method_ actress!" There was an odd triumphant glint in the girl's eyes, but Yang ignored it.

            "Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. "As I was saying, we went to the ring toss and she somehow won even though that's impossible. She took a stuffed dragon and gave it to me. Still don't know how."

            "Pfft," Nora said, waving her hand. "Those rings are made of iron. They're ferromagnetic!"

            "That... Actually explains a lot," Yang said. Pyrrha's Semblance hadn't even occurred to Yang at the time. "But I never saw Pyrrha as the sort to—"

            "Never mind that!" Nora grabbed Yang's shoulders and stared directly into her eyes, putting her face almost uncomfortably close to Yang's. "The important thing is that you _held her hand_!"

            "I, uh... Yeah," Yang agreed, taking a step back. "But I think she actually took _my_ hand first."

            Nora grinned maniacally. "Oh, this is _priceless_!"

            "What's priceless?" Yang asked.

            "Oh, don't you worry about it," Nora told her. "Just go plan some more dates and woo her!" She started skipping off into the trees.

            "I'm not... what?" Yang called after her, but she was gone. Yang was left alone in the middle of the Emerald Forest, as confused by Nora's words as she was by the blush she could feel in her cheeks.

* * *

            After dinner that evening, Yang had her eyes closed and was relaxing on Blake's bed (Blake was in the library, and Yang had been far too lazy to climb up to her own bed), but something in the room felt off. Her first thought was that it was too quiet, but it wasn't. The air conditioner was running, and the faint sound of a pencil scratching against paper alerted Yang to the presence of someone else. Someone who, based on the almost _aggressive_ silence she was giving off, still hadn't forgiven Yang for a certain comment she'd made earlier.

            "Hey, Weiss?" Yang said hesitantly.

            "This better be important."

            Yang opened her eyes and looked around the room. She saw Weiss sitting at the desk, hunched over an assignment of some description. The heiress hadn't even seemed to face Yang when she'd spoken.

            "I just wanted to..." _Oh boy_. Yang wasn't used to this. Especially not with Weiss. "I wanted to apologise for earlier. I spoke without thinking and I... I was out of line."

            Weiss dropped her pencil. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise." She sighed, got to her feet and walked over to her bed. She faced Yang and sat, hanging her head in her hands. "If I'd been _anyone_ else," she said slowly, "that comment wouldn't've cut so deeply."

            "Oh..." Yang said quietly, unsure of where this was going. "Am I that bad?"

            "No, Yang. You're fine." Weiss shook her head and added, "well, you're not _fine_. You know what I mean."

            Yang did know. She and Weiss would likely never see eye to eye on everything, and even on good days they would probably grate on each other's nerves occasionally (well, mainly Yang grating on Weiss' nerves to amuse herself). "Yeah," she said. "I do." When Weiss looked at her, her expression was neutral, but her piercing blue eyes seemed to contain more than a hint of turmoil. Yang knew she wasn't Weiss' closest friend, but she couldn't help but think something was truly bothering the heiress. She could only hope it wasn't her. "Is there... something you wanna talk about, Weiss?"

            "Nothing I particularly _want_ to talk about."

            Yang could tell that wasn't all. "But...?" she prompted.

            "But it's something I probably _should_ talk about. And I think you at least deserve to know _why_ what you said got to me so much."

            "Well, if you're sure you wanna tell me, I'll listen." _If nothing else it'll stop me thinking about Pyrrha and Nora._ "Take your time."

            "You weren't... _entirely_ wrong. In what you implied."

            "I don't understand."

            "Shut up and let me finish!" Weiss snapped. "Sorry," she added, seeing the shocked look on Yang's face. "I grew up with my father making all my decisions for me. The closest things I had to friends were the children of his associates, most of whom only ever talked about the riches they'd inherit. I wasn't allowed to... see... anyone—" she blushed before continuing, "—in case I 'dishonoured' myself or our name. I knew that eventually I'd be forced into a marriage that would benefit my father and be expected to produce heirs." Yang thought she saw a tear glistening in Weiss' scarred eye, but the heiress wiped it away angrily. "I was _also_ taught... that no one outside the upper echelons of society was good enough for my affection, or even my attention. So you were right, Yang. I _don't_ have a love life." She faced the wall and muttered, "just another reason to hate my father."

            Yang didn't know what to say. She'd known that Weiss had had a rather controlled upbringing, but she'd never realised it was that bad. "I... Wow. Then I am _really_ sorry. I never mean to, like, actually hurt you or anything."

            "I know, Yang." Weiss sighed again, and part of Yang thought she was going for some kind of record for sighs in a single conversation. The heiress turned back around to face her. "Just... Could you _maybe_ try to think a little more before you say things like that? Not just with me. With everyone you care about. I know you never mean anything by it, but..."

            "I'll do my best." Yang got to her feet and started walking towards Weiss.

            "Wh-what are you doing?"

            "Someone needs a hug!"

            "What? No! Yang, no hugs! Don't touch me!" Unfortunately for Weiss, Yang was too stubborn and too strong for escape to be possible. Yang felt the girl squirm in her arms for a while, but she soon relaxed.

            "Do whatever makes you feel better, okay?" Yang said when she pulled away from the hug. She headed towards the door and stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "And Weiss? Whatever you decide to do about Papa Dick, know that all of us will have your back."

            "Thank you."

            With that, Yang left her to go in search of Pyrrha. In the midst of all the teasing earlier, Nora _had_ brought up a good point: to maintain the façade, Yang and Pyrrha getting slightly more physical would have to happen eventually. She figured she should let the Invincible Girl know early, rather than dropping it on her later.

            She found the girl on the rooftop, training with Jaune. Neither of them seemed to notice Yang at first, and she decided not to interrupt. She leaned against the wall and watched them train. _He's gotten better_ , she thought, watching Jaune almost land a blow to Pyrrha's head. He managed to dodge or deflect a flurry of rapid counter attacks, but he was losing ground. Pyrrha didn't let up until he was almost falling off the roof, at which point she stepped back and let him regain his balance.

            "Good on ya, Vomit Boy," Yang said. "That blitz would've given _me_ trouble." She was exaggerating slightly, but she didn't see the harm in giving the boy some encouragement.

            "Oh, hey, Yang," Jaune replied. "Thanks. She's a great teacher."

            "Hello, Yang," Pyrrha said. "I didn't see you there."

            "I'm not interrupting, am I?" Yang asked. "I kinda wanted to talk to you, but it can wait if you guys are—"

            "No, go ahead," Jaune said. "I could use a break. D'you want me to leave, or...?"

            "Only if you're sure it's not a bad time," Yang said. "I don't wanna intrude."

            "No, it's cool. Really. Right, Pyrrha?"

            "If you're sure," Pyrrha said. "You've done well tonight, Jaune. Take your rest. You've earned it."

            "Then I'll see you later. 'Night, Yang."

            "Bye, Jaune. And thanks." Jaune headed inside, leaving Yang and Pyrrha alone.

            "Everything okay?" Pyrrha asked.

            "I should be asking you that," Yang replied. "How you feeling?"

            "Since last night, better than I have in weeks. So, thank you for that."

            "Glad to do it." Yang was silent for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. "So... you wanna continue with this?"

            "If you're sure you don't mind doing it for me," Pyrrha replied. "I don't know if it's me hoping that it'll work or what, but I really do feel better. So I'd like to, if that's okay."

            "It's no problem at all. And that's what I wanted to talk about. See, I was talking with Nora and she brought something up that I think is... maybe too much for right now, but something we need to be thinking about."

            "I dread to think," Pyrrha joked. "What did she say?"

            "She said—and I will totally understand if you're not comfortable with this—that if we're gonna be convincing, we _may_ need to occasionally kiss in front of the others." Pyrrha blushed at that, which Yang was secretly glad about. _At least I'm not the only embarrassed one._ "I told her I didn't think you'd go for that, but I was thinking about it and I realised we should probably at least hold hands when they're around, or maybe, like, I don't know, sit or stand really close together or—"

            Pyrrha held up a hand. "Yang. You're rambling. Slow down."

            "Right. Yeah. Sorry." Yang took a moment to collect herself. "So what I'm saying is, we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I do think we should look at ways to be more convincing. I also figured I should talk to you about this early so we can ease into maybe getting more physical. If, y'know, you're comfortable doing that."

            "Thank you for being open with me," Pyrrha said. "I see your point. And Nora's."

            "That's good," Yang replied. "At first I thought she was being a perv, but... Anyway. Yeah. You should know that about dating me, real or fake. I'm always open." Part of her mind immediately thought of several implications of that sentence that were definitely _not_ intended. "I mean, in communication. Not like, y'know..."

            Pyrrha laughed. "I know what you mean. And for the record, Nora's right. Us kissing _will_ be more convincing."

            Yang hoped it was dark enough for her blush to go unnoticed. "And you're comfortable with it?" she asked. "I mean, for some people kissing is a huge thing. I'm cool with it if you are, but..." With any luck, Pyrrha wouldn't be able to tell how much Yang wanted her to say _yes, I really am comfortable doing this_. Dammit, _why_ did she want Pyrrha to say that so badly?

            "Well... I think we should save it for desperate times. You know, if Jaune doesn't notice anything for a while. Then we can start and see if it helps."

            "That seems fair enough," Yang agreed.

            "But..." Pyrrha added. "I _also_ think we should be prepared to do it."

            "What... what do you mean?"

            "I think we should be used to kissing each other so that it looks natural if we need to."

            Yang could hardly believe her ears. "Are you saying... we should practice?"

            This time it was Pyrrha's turn to blush. The fact that Yang saw it didn't bode well for hiding her own embarrassment. "I... Yes...?" Pyrrha covered her face with her hands for a few seconds, then ran them through her hair. "I mean... Last night I... It felt like I _should've_ kissed you. Is that weird?"

            "No, Pyrrha," Yang said, taking the girl's hands in her own. She thought about making a joke, but decided against it. "I kinda... Dreamed about you..."

            "I'm flattered," Pyrrha said, chuckling nervously. Yang suddenly realised how close they were.

            "I... I mean, if you were serious about practicing—"

            "Yes..." Pyrrha breathed. Yang closed the gap, and softly pressed her lips to Pyrrha's. She let go of her hands and cupped her face, losing track of time as they kissed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mind was racing, but she didn't care. Suddenly all that mattered was Pyrrha, and the beautiful contact of their lips.

            Soon she had to pull back to breathe, and the gravity of what had just happened hit her. _Why did I enjoy that so much? Why am I getting so attached to her?_ _Why was I so eager to do that?_ She stood shock-still, completely lost in thought, until Pyrrha quite literally shook her back to reality.

            "Are you okay?" she asked, her hands on Yang's shoulders. "Yang?"

            "Yeah," Yang said quickly. "Yeah, I'm good. Just zoned out."

            Pyrrha chewed her lip, still blushing. "So... was that okay?"

            "Yes, Pyrrha. Of course." _That cam out waaaay to quickly_ , Yang thought. "And, if, uh... you're sure about wanting to practice... I'm up for it anytime! Just gimme a call!"

            "Okay." Pyrrha laughed nervously.

            Yang started backing away slowly. "Oh, and also... Lemme know when you wanna go out again!"

            "Well... maybe sometime this week if you're not busy?" Pyrrha suggested.

            "I'll make sure I'm not." Yang headed for the door. "It was, uh, _very_ nice to see you. And talk to you. Good night."

            "Good night, Yang."

            As Yang walked back to her dorm, only one thought was on her mind: _what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?_

* * *

            Movement in the window caught Blake's eye as she scoured the library shelves for a new book to read. She looked to see what it was, and saw three figures on the roof of her dorm building. Two were girls, based on the length of their hair; despite the distance and the low light Blake could make out blonde and red. _Is that..._ The third figure, who appeared to be a guy, seemed to be leaving.

            Blake felt slightly ashamed to be spying on who she thought were Yang and Pyrrha, but she couldn't help herself. Her curiosity always seemed to get the better of her.

            For a while they just seemed to be talking—about what, Blake couldn't fathom—but soon enough the blonde took the redhead's hands. They seemed to be standing _awfully_ close together... The blonde was moving in... _Are they going to... I shouldn't be watching this..._ Right as the rooftop figures appeared to kiss, Blake heard someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned to see Beacon's wizened old librarian staring at her disapprovingly.

            "Are you looking for a book?" he asked.

            "I, um, yes, I was," Blake replied quickly. She grabbed a thick tome from the nearest shelf, barely stopping to see what it was. As the librarian departed, she glanced back up to the rooftop. The blonde was departing, practically out of sight from where Blake was standing.

            _Wow,_ Blake thought. _I guess they're serious about this_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Two updates in under a week. I'm on a damn roll with this.  
> Anyway, I have no idea if I'm going anywhere with that thing with Weiss. The only thing that I've really got even a semblance of a plan for is the Greek Fire relationship, so your guess is as good as mine about any potential subplots. I just figured I've never really explored that facet of Weiss' past and saw an opportunity to do it there. She may end up with someone, but I don't really ship her with anyone so no promises.  
> Regardless, hopefully this is still enough to warrant reading.


	6. Chapter 6

            After what Blake had... witnessed (she felt like _spying_ implied an intent to see something she wasn't supposed to; seeing Yang and Pyrrha doing what they'd seemed to do had been an honest mistake), she had mixed feelings about seeing her partner again. She had no intention of confronting the blonde about it, but she knew Yang was already suspicious of her because of her slip-up that morning. She wasn't sure if she could refrain from giving knowing glances.

            Her concern, though, was unfounded. Blake returned to the dorm room when the library closed, but Yang was nowhere to be found. In fact, Team RWBY's loquacious powerhouse didn't make an appearance until after midnight, long after Ruby and Weiss were asleep. Blake deduced from the smell of Yang that she'd been working out somewhere, and decided to feign sleep rather than have to talk. Tired as she was, she didn't trust herself not to let something slip. She would figure out what to do about what she'd seen tomorrow.

            Unfortunately, tomorrow proved to be a long time coming. Yang, clearly thinking everyone was asleep, changed into her sleepwear in the middle of the room, oblivious to Blake seeing her. The Faunus tried not to look, she really did, but she couldn't deny that she found her partner's body amazing. Everyone else seemed to think so, too, but Yang was oddly modest when it came to changing her clothes. She always seemed happy to flaunt herself with revealing outfits, but didn't like to let anyone see her in her underwear.

            _Maybe it's a control thing_ , Blake thought. _She likes to choose what people see, rather than baring it all._ If her guess was right, she understood. Nevertheless, she couldn't tear her gaze away until Yang turned around to climb up to her bunk. She sighed so quietly it was little more than a long exhale and closed her eyes, almost disgusted with herself. What was she _doing_? Sure, spotting Yang and Pyrrha on the roof had genuinely been an accident, but she'd _chosen_ to keep watching. And now she was using her night vision to basically gawk at her half-naked partner? She needed to sort herself out before she did something she'd regret.

            Blake was certain she wasn't becoming romantically attached. Even if she were, Yang seemed to be with Pyrrha. There was no way she'd get in the way of that. No, her feelings for Yang were more sisterly than anything. Maybe she just had voyeuristic tendencies she'd never felt before. At any rate, she decided she would stop being so weird and not spy on her best friend. Yang's relationship was none of Blake's business, unless Yang chose to make it otherwise.

            Speaking of Yang, her incessant tossing and turning in the bunk above was making it _extremely_ difficult for Blake to sleep. She couldn't very well say anything, not least because complaining that Yang's lack of sleep was keeping her awake was nothing if not downright inconsiderate. She'd just have to struggle through it and force herself to sleep.

* * *

            Blake must've dozed off eventually, because she was woken by someone turning on the shower. It had clearly been a light sleep; Blake usually slept through such mundane sounds. Looking across the room, she saw that Ruby and Weiss were still asleep. That meant it was _really_ early. Weiss was normally the first to rise, even on weekends.

            _Why's Yang up so early?_ Blake wondered, sitting up and stretching. She didn't have to wait long to find out. Her partner soon emerged from the bathroom, clad in plain shorts and a tank top, with her hair still damp from the shower. Yang looked tired, but she raised a hand in greeting when she saw that Blake was awake.

            "Going somewhere?" Blake asked. "You're not usually up yet."

            "Not really," Yang replied. "Couldn't really sleep all night. Figured I should get up and pretend to be productive instead of wasting the day in bed."

            "Something on your mind?" Blake still didn't want to confront Yang directly about Pyrrha, but if she could dance around the topic, get Yang to bring it up herself...

            "Hm?"

            "You said you couldn't sleep," Blake said. "Was something bothering you, or just one of those random nights where you can't get comfortable?"

            Yang sighed. "It's complicated."

            A small smile graced Blake's lips. "And here's me thinking you were the antithesis of clichés."

            "Shut up," Yang said playfully. "This time it actually _is_ complicated. I don't even know how to explain it."

            "Usually laying out the facts helps," Blake suggested drily. "Start there. Unless you don't want to talk about it."

            "I'd rather... not..." Yang said. "If that's okay. Not right now, anyway. Maybe later. Maybe in a few days. Maybe... maybe never. Probably not never though. I'm kinda confused about... stuff. But I'm not, like, ready... or anything... Not yet."

            "That's fine, Yang. I'll be here if you want to talk."

            Yang grinned, and Blake could tell an awful joke was coming. "You mean I gotta wait for you to be in your pyjamas in bed before I can talk to you about this? Gotcha."

            Blake shook her head in exasperation, but smiled in spite of herself. "You know full well that's not what I mean. If you want to talk, I will make time for you."

            "Aw, Blakey! You don't have to do that for little ole me!" Despite her words, Yang looked grateful for the offer.

            "It's what a good partner _should_ do," Blake insisted. "I mean, you're like a sister I never had." Yang stared at Blake, mouth agape. "Did I say something wro—"

            "That's like the sweetest thing you've ever said!" Yang practically squealed, her face suddenly glowing with happiness. Unfortunately for her, since she was facing Blake, she didn't see what the Faunus saw: a white bird's nest of a head stirring on the bed behind her. Blake tried to keep a straight face. She wanted to see how this would go.

            "Why are you so _loud_?" Weiss demanded, sitting up so she could glare at the blonde. Ironically enough, she wasn't much quieter than Yang's squeal had been. "Some of us are trying to _sleep_!"

            The look of delight on Yang's face was replaced with pure fear. She turned around slowly. "Sorry...?" she said nervously. She began inching towards the door.

            "You are _so_ lucky that I am in no fit state to chase after you in public," Weiss told her. "I suggest you run, and _pray_ that I am adequately caffeinated next time I see you." Yang nodded meekly and bolted.

            "Sorry about that," Blake said. "We had a bit of a moment. I told her she's like a sister I never had, and, well... I guess you know the rest."

            "I'm not going to blame you, Blake," Weiss told her. "I think we should just both work harder on civilising our partners." She gestured at the ropes supporting Ruby's bed for emphasis. Blake still didn't understand how the team hadn't been reprimanded for such a blatant safety hazard. Then again, a school which literally launched its new students off a cliff into monster-infested woods with no warning probably didn't have much awareness of safety standards.

            "Indeed we should," she mused. "Planning on going back to sleep?"

            "I doubt I'll be able to now," Weiss groaned. "But if you are, I'll go for a walk and give you some peace."

            "Don't feel obliged to." Blake yawned. "But I appreciate the offer." She flopped back down, rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes, intent on napping for at least a couple more hours. 

* * *

**The previous night (where last chapter ended)**

            After Yang left, red-faced and not making eye contact, Pyrrha couldn't have said how long she stood on the rooftop. She tried her damnedest to think about everything that was going on, but the only thought her brain could come up with was _she is a really good kisser_.

            She didn't exactly have much experience to draw from on that front—none, in fact—but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't loved every one of those precious few seconds when Yang's lips had been pressed against her own. Pyrrha's only question was _why_ she'd loved it so much. A week ago, she would've said with certainty that she wasn't interested in girls in the slightest, but now...

            _I was willing to do that to further the plan_ , she thought. _That's all it was. Practicing in private, to further the plan in public_. _It's not like I wanted to kiss Yang specifically, or want to date her properly. Right?_

            Pyrrha decided that the pleasure she'd felt during the kiss was simply a result of being kissed. But _was_ that the case? Did it really have nothing to do with the gorgeous, well-built, self-confident blonde who was actually giving Pyrrha undivided care and attention? She blushed for what felt like the hundredth time that night when she realised that if her attraction to Jaune was anything to go by, Yang was definitely her type as well.

            Eventually Pyrrha decided she'd been out long enough, and her teammates would probably be getting worried. They knew she could take care of herself, but it wasn't like her to stay out on her own this late, and if Jaune told Nora that Yang had appeared during their training session... Well, JNPR's shortest member tended to get overzealous in her questioning.

            Pyrrha started walking back to her room, trying to get her thoughts in order before the inevitable confrontation with the mad ginger. A hall clock she passed on her way revealed that she'd been alone on the roof, lost in her own mind, for far longer than she'd thought; it was nearing midnight and she hadn't let anyone know what was happening. Now more concerned than ever about worrying her teammates, she picked up her pace a little.

            The sounds she heard from outside JNPR's room relieved her. Nora's loud snores, along with the occasional indistinct mumbling, meant she was asleep, hopefully deeply enough to not wake when Pyrrha entered. Pyrrha pulled out her scroll, unlocked the door and pushed it open quietly, then stepped lightly over to where her pyjamas were neatly folded on her bed. She couldn't have said if Jaune and Ren were actually asleep, but she didn't want to wake them if they were.

            Pyrrha crept into the bathroom to change—more from force of habit than worrying about being seen, though she was thankful for the light—then walked back to her bed, just as quietly as before. She dropped her clothes rather unceremoniously on the floor, too preoccupied to care about putting them away neatly. She'd deal with them properly in the morning. For the moment, she simply climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

            "That's so cute! She's smiling in her sleep!" The overly hyper voice woke Pyrrha from her slumber.

            "Lots of people do that, Nora." This voice was more sombre.

            "Right. She's probably having a nice dream." A pause, and then, "but you should stop staring. It's weird." Still half-asleep, Pyrrha heard a door open.

            "I wonder if it's about a blonde!" Pyrrha was glad her back was turned to her teammates; the blush she felt rising in her cheeks would've given Nora a field day. She thought of Yang, then mentally chastised herself. Surely Nora must have meant Jaune.

            The dorm room door, which had been slowly creaking shut, was suddenly silent. "What?" Jaune asked.

            "You know! People with your hair colour!" Nora said. "Blondes!"

            "Why would she be dreaming about—"

            "If you must know," Pyrrha interrupted. "I'm awake. I'm not dreaming about anything."

            "Oh! In that case, good morning!" Nora almost yelled. "Sleep well?"

            "Yes, thank you," Pyrrha replied. She felt the blush finally fading from her cheeks, and deemed it safe to face her teammates. Trying to stifle a yawn, she sat up in bed and stretched.

            "Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune said from the doorway. "I've got work to do in the library. I'll catch you later."

            "Bye." As soon as the door clicked shut, Pyrrha glared at Nora. "Dreaming about a blonde?" she demanded.

            Nora grinned wildly. "Well, y'know... You _were_ alone on a moonlit rooftop with one of the hottest girls in our year! What was I _supposed_ to think?!"

            Pyrrha's blush came back in full force. "Y-you know it's not real," she stammered. Seeing Ren's bemused expression, she added, "help me!"

            "I can tell _something_ real is happening!" Nora insisted. "Neither of you can stop blushing!"

            _She gets_ Yang _to blush?_ Pyrrha thought. _What?_ "I... Don't know what you mean," she said, rather lamely.

            "Pyrrha," Ren said. The solemnity in his tone was slightly alarming. "She's not going to make this easy on you, whether there is anything going on or not. She's having too much fun. All I can suggest is that you answer her questions and get this over with quickly."

            "Questions...?" Pyrrha said nervously.

            "Questions!" Nora agreed. "Like... what happened after Jaune left last night?" Pyrrha didn't answer, but she knew her face was betraying her. "Ooh..." Nora said. "That's an interesting expression! This'll be _good_!"

            "I don't want to talk about it," Pyrrha muttered.

            "You know I can just ask Yang, right? She'll definitely tell me!" Pyrrha remained silent. "Please?" Nora begged. "It won't leave this room!"

            Pyrrha steeled her nerves. She figured if Nora had gone to the trouble of devising this arguably insane plan, she should at least know how things were going. "I... She kissed me."

            Nora quite literally squealed.

 

**A/N: sorry about the delay, and the shorter chapter. School's back in session (fucking yay for that. I'm thrilled to be back), I've had a bunch of stuff to do for uni applications, then I got so sick I couldn't eat for a couple of days, and I've also been working on other fics beside this one.**

**Anyway, despite all that, hopefully it was still good. There's some subtle foreshadowing the potential grammar Nazis amongst you may pick up on, but if you're not overly pedantic with the English language you possibly didn't notice. If you think you caught it, drop me a line. I'll be interested to see how many people see it.**


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